An authorized representative of the President, Andrzej Duda, will appear in court on October 24, 2025, in connection with Duda's statement about the film “Green Border” of the famous director Agnieszka Holland, the head of the president's office confirmed, quoted by the Polish Press Agency (PAP), quoted by BTA.
The film, which premiered on September 5, 2023 at the Venice Film Festival, was inspired by the migration crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border. The tape tells about the plight of a group of refugees trying to enter Poland, but being sent back to Belarus by the Polish border services.
Shortly after the premiere, in a television interview, President Andrzej Duda commented that he was not surprised that the border guards who watched the film used the phrase “only pigs sit in the cinema”. This slogan, which was widespread in Poland during the Nazi occupation in World War II, was directed against viewers of Nazi propaganda films.
Although Duda admitted he had not seen the film himself, the president said the production was an insult to Polish border forces. “I read an opinion that the film almost portrays them as sadists,”, he said. Duda defended the border guards, stressing that they are doing their job, guarding not only the border of Poland, but also the European Union and the Schengen area, fulfilling the country's international obligations.
The case against President Duda was filed by the organization Center for Monitoring Racist and Xenophobic Behavior. According to information from the organization, the first court hearing will be held on October 24, 2025 at the District Court in Warsaw and will be open to the general public.
The presidency confirmed the information about the scheduled date of the court session.